A MULTIVARIATE-ANALYSIS OF ASSESSMENT OF MYOMETRIAL INVASION OF ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Thirty-nine cases of endometrial carcinoma were analyzed by magnetic r esonance imaging (0.15 or 1.5 tesla (T) MRT) prior to surgery to evalu ate the depth of myometrial invasion of endometrial carcinoma. Several diagnostic parameters of MRT. were set: maximum area of high-intensit y area (HIA) in sagittal (HIASI) and transverse (HIATI) images of the uterus, minimum width of remaining myometrium (MWRM), and ratio of min imum to maximum width of normal myometrial thickness (RMMT). In analys is of correlation between myometrial invasion and MRI parameters, the correlation coefficient values of HIASI, HIATI, and MWRM were higher t han those of other parameters at 0.71, 0.69, and -0.74, respectively. When cases were classified into three groups according to tumor invasi on (tumor limited to endometrium, invasion to less than 50% of the myo metrium, invasion to greater than 50% of the myometrium), MWRM was the most useful as a single parameter. Since HIASI and MWRM were independ ent parameters of myometrial invasion, they were selected for multivar iate analysis. An equation to calculate the predicted depth of myometr ial invasion was derived using both HIASI and MWRM by the multiple lin ear regression model. The equation could estimate the degree of myomet rial invasion from the parameters of 1.5 T MRI. The values obtained fr om the equation are more useful for prediction of myometrial invasion of endometrial carcinoma than single parameters in both 0.15- and 1.5- T MRI. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.